Local Lab: Flooding Research

Heriot-Watt University Researchers want to hear about flooding

David Morrison is a final year PhD student in Flood Risk Management at Heriot-Watt University. As part of the Water Resilient Cities project he is exploring how communities are adapting to household flooding in Scotland.

Around 14,000 residential properties are at risk of flooding across Edinburgh and Lothians (16% of all properties at risk of flooding nationally), which totals around £36million in annual average damages in the event of a flood. Indeed, flooding on the Water of Leith in 2000 resulted in 500 inundated homes.

Flooding on the Water of Leith in 2000 resulted in 500 inundated homes.

Unfortunately, uptake of property-level flood protectionmeasures in Scotland is low. Sometimes this is due to low awareness of flood risk in residential areas, or the costs associated with installing protection measures. Making our homes flood proof and protecting ourselves can include using sand bags or flood barriers, and simpler measures such as ensuring important possessions are moved upstairs to avoid damage in the event of flood water entering our homes.

For his PhD, David has undertaken a flood modelling project in Cambodia and has witnessed first-hand the devastating impact floods can have on people’s homes and livelihoods. However, he has also witnessed the resilience of locals and their ability to adapt using their own take on property-level protection measures, such as houses on stilts.

David would like to hear your thoughts on flooding in your local area and any effective measures you’ve taken to protect your own home. If you would like to contribute to this research, with the option to enter a prize draw to win £100 in high street vouchers, please complete this short survey:

bit.ly/HWfloodRisk

Your insights and perceptions of flood risk will help David understand what it takes to ensure our own communities become equally as resilient as those in Cambodia.

For more information about the Water Resilient Cities project visit their website: bit.ly/HwprojectInfo or contact David Morrison at dh48@hw.ac.uk

The Local Lab column is contributed by Heriot-Watt University to engage the public in a range of their research projects.